Voice and video at the gates, Tool kits capitalize on Intel, Microsoft support of conferencing

A new set of tool kits for embedding H.323 videoconferencing and voice-over-Internet technology into multimedia software and hardware products could enhance Internet protocol's increasing position as the telecommunications protocol of the future.

DataBeam Corp., a Lexington, Ky.-based software vendor, has paired with Intel to create the H.323 Toolkit Series for software developers and network providers.

The tool kits are designed largely for corporate computing in local area network-based applications, PBXs and multipoint control units, but they also integrate software for gateways between IP-based networks, including the Internet and the public switched network.

These gateways will be crucial in establishing Internet-based telephony as a practical reality, said Eric Newman, group product manager at DataBeam.

"These devices will eventually eliminate the distinction between calls placed over telephones and calls placed through computers," Newman said. "The issue now is to make the process of using IP networks for voice calls more like using the [public network].

The H.323 Gatekeeper Toolkit offers the bandwidth usage, application registration and directory services components required for building gatekeeper applications to maintain network integrity for the end user.

The kit provides zone management, zone-wide bandwidth control, external access restriction and automated handshaking between the gatekeeper and registering nodes in the zone.

By partnering with Intel, DataBeam can leverage H.323-compliant conferencing software from Microsoft and Intel's Internet telephony applications, further speeding the technology's acceptance.